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Study Reconstructs How Deep Mantle Flows Forged Antarctica’s Gravity Low

A seismic-to-geodynamic reconstruction links the anomaly’s evolution to slow mantle circulation over tens of millions of years.

Overview

  • The peer-reviewed Scientific Reports paper by Petar Glišović and Alessandro M. Forte attributes the Antarctic Geoid Low to long-term mantle-driven mass redistribution.
  • Researchers used global earthquake records and physics-based 3D modeling to map Earth’s interior and rewind mantle flow about 70 million years.
  • The modeled gravity field closely matched high-precision satellite measurements, supporting the realism of the reconstruction beneath Antarctica.
  • The gravity low strengthened between roughly 50 and 30 million years ago, overlapping with the onset of widespread Antarctic glaciation.
  • The anomaly measurably lowers local sea-surface height around the continent, and the team plans coupled gravity–sea level–elevation models to test potential links to ice-sheet growth.